COACH Paul Roos assesses all 44 players at Melbourne’s midway stage of the 2015 season. In the first of a four-part series, he looks at Rohan Bail, Angus Brayshaw, Daniel Cross, Chris Dawes, Lynden Dunn, Jack Fitzpatrick, Sam Frost, Colin Garland, Jeff Garlett, Max Gawn and Jack Grimes.

Rohan Bail: Ro’s had a reasonable year. He’s certainly been very good at VFL level – he’s played some terrific footy with Casey – and played some good roles, when he’s been asked to do them. I think the next level for Ro is to have some real belief in his game, which is starting to happen. I thought his game against Geelong was one of his better ones, so I’m looking forward to him continuing to improve and continuing to get better – no matter where he plays.

Angus Brayshaw: Angus has shown what I saw of him last year at the Sandringham Dragons and I watched him every week. He’s a natural ball-winner and he naturally goes back to the ball. Probably early on, his decision-making and kicking wasn’t great, but I think the last two or three weeks, he’s really started to iron that out and got more composed at senior level. He’s had a very good start to his AFL career.

Daniel Cross: I think Crossy was consistent early in the year, but probably a bit of a turning point for him was going to half-back. He reads the ball so well and he’s really helped out defence. He continues to be a pro and he continues to play really consistent AFL football.

Chris Dawes: Dawesy’s had an up-and-down year. He hasn’t really been able to get going because of his calf. The back end of the year is really important for him and for us as a footy club, because when he’s in there and playing a really important role for us – as you saw in the game at Geelong, which was a good example – he played a really important role. When he does that, we’re a better team.

Lynden Dunn: Dunny’s game against Geelong was the best I’ve seen him play. His balance between defence and attack was exceptional and he played on a really good player in Tom Hawkins. He’s been OK in the first half of the year, but hopefully the Geelong game is a real stepping stone for him to finish off the year, as he started last year, because he showed last year that he can be one of the best defenders in the competition.

Jack Fitzpatrick: Fitzy’s game against the Bulldogs was his highlight of the year. But now it’s really about finding consistency for Fitzy. He’s played some good footy in the VFL, but he’s had some footy, where he’s had some flaws in his game. But it’s really about consistency of performance – on and off the field for Fitzy.

Sam Frost: Frosty showed what he could give us in the pre-season and early in the season. He’s a competitor with really great speed. He’s going to be a natural defender, even though we played him forward/ruck early in the year, but I’m really looking forward to him playing in the back end of the year.

Colin Garland: Col’s been super consistent and arguably our most consistent player. He’s done a role every single week, but unfortunately he broke his hand and missed a couple of games before the bye. He’s a high-quality AFL defender.

Jeff Garlett: Jeff hasn’t been a surprise packet, because we’ve seen what he could do at Carlton, but what he’s done has been exceptional. His ability to come back to the football is what I like. His commitment to the defensive side of the game generates a lot of his offense and helps us as a footy team.

Max Gawn: Maxy, by his own admission, probably struggled early in the season and I must admit we were a little bit worried about his form. I spoke to him a lot about it and then he played a really good, consistent block in the VFL and then it was highlighted by his game against Geelong. Hopefully that potential that we’ve known is there turns into becoming a really consistent performer at AFL level.

Jack Grimes: Grimesy has been really up-and-down this year, but we’ve had some really good discussions with him. The thing with Jack is that he wants to be a good player and he learns and listens. So it was disappointing that he got injured against St Kilda, because I thought he played one of his best games. The challenge for him is to get back and play some consistent footy.